UN: Progress on childbirth safety has 'flatlined' around the world

Executive director of the UN Population Fund, Dr Natalia Kanem, says there has been 'zero progress' in saving women from preventable death in childbirths since 2016. File photo: AP/Rogelio V. Solis

Global progress in making childbirth safer for women has “flatlined” with “zero progress” since 2016, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).

Executive director of the UNFPA, Dr Natalia Kanem, welcomed advances in protecting rights for girls and women over the last 30 years, but warned that across many measures this progress has now “stalled completely”.